A modern approach to estimate the bearing capacity of layered soil

Abstract

This study is concerned with the bearing capacity of circular footings on a granular fill layer above a soft clay soil. The results of an extensive series of laboratory and field tests were used to define an empirical equation. This is generally done by estimating the dependent variable (e.g. bearing capacity) based on the independent variables (e.g. granular fill layer thickness, soil and footing parameters and settlement ratio). A logarithmic model has been developed by using regression analysis to estimate the bearing capacity of a circular footing resting on granular fill at any settlement ratio, using all possible regression techniques based on 342 field test data, to select the significant subset of the predictors. The results indicate that the logarithmic model serves a simple and reliable tool to predict the bearing capacity of circular footings placed on a granular fill with different thicknesses above a soft clay soil. And also, the validity of the developed formulation was verified with different plate load test results from literature.